Wonderful Weekend!

We have had such a fantastic weekend!!

Friday evening, Emily and I went and did some shopping by ourselves... more fabric, I'm addicted to sewing now! I love to spend time with her alone, she is so awesome and we don't get alone time often.

Nick signed the kids up for craft Saturday at Lowes and they made dune buggies, totally cute! We went out to brunch, then went to see Wall-E. It was cute, but I'm surprised that it held Ethan's attention for more than twenty minutes, and Emily expected more laughs. We went to church last night and were able to see a Pastor that moved away a couple of years ago! It was great to see he and his wife since we miss having them around so much. As always, his message was great!

This morning we all woke up early and headed out to the desert to ride quads. Around here, we call any land that isn't developed "desert", even though we live IN the desert, we don't like to think of it like that. Some of us do have grass, you know. Which brings me to the next activity... Ethan and Nick cut the grass, together. I think Ethan did a better job, but maybe I graded him on a curve. Also, Emily kicked my tail in Monopoly Jr.

Enjoy the pictures...

Happy Sunday! A

They are so proud of their cars!

Ethan climbed the ramps half the time we were out there!

'Riding' Daddy's quad (and making the quad noise)

Em had her best riding day today!

7 going on 16

The last ride of the morning"Hey, wait for me."

Please pray for Zachary **UPDATED**

UPDATE: It has been determined that sweet Zach's fever is being caused by an infection. Please pray specifically for the healing of this infection. Thank you.

Sweet Zach has developed a 102* fever and is struggling a bit to clear the thick mucous from his lungs since they removed the ventilator, and also to release the extra fluid from his body, and he is quite uncomfortable.
Please pray for healing in Zach, for peace for Ray and Amy, and for wisdom in the doctors and nurses that are constantly in contact with Zach.
Thank you, my friends. A

Tuesday

The kids and I have had a relaxing day at home, doing pretty much nothing, and now Em is at cheer for an hour.

I've been practicing cute hairdos on Em, types that I don’t typically see, (I know why, some of them take forever). I was given the link to a site all about cute hair by a friend and I'm addicted! It's a great site and I've added a link on the side bar under "faves". It's Hair Today, and if you have girls, you'll love it!

I spent some time at the hospital yesterday visiting with Zach and family. It was great to get to see them and to talk with Amy for a couple of hours. I haven't spent much time with them at all since Zach was born, just because I've been so worried about passing germs from my kids on to him, which would be so dangerous for him. I'm a freak about that... I don't like kids around my babies when they're little and I don't take my kids around other babies. You never know what type of germs are waiting to be passed on. Even though I haven't held him much, it was so difficult to be so close to him and not be able to touch and love on him... he's so darling. He was resting the entire time and looked as handsome as ever. He is still in need of prayer.

That's about it... I have to go pick Em up and then get back and throw dinner in the oven! Sorry it's a bit boring today, but enjoy the pictures!

Oh, oh, oh... Ethan has mastered potty training and has been accident free for six days... he's a rockstar!

Happy Tuesday!
A

There are two braids on the top that cross over to the top ones on the back

Pictures from the Fourth

We had a great weekend! Nick took Emily to the movies Friday morning, then we packed up and headed west... and I mean it when I say 'packed up'. Our friends (we met them in the Army in CO, but they're from here also. They moved a bit, then moved back here!) live in the opposite side of the valley from us and we rarely just spend a couple of hours at each others houses. It's an overnight deal, which ends up working out really well! We swam and ate and the kids played like crazy! We watched some fireworks, what we could see from their front yard since it was a little stormy.

Ethan was the only boy our of six kids, poor guy. The other girls are 3, 5, 6, 7 & 9. So Saturday morning the kids are playing upstairs in the loft and we see that they have set up a table with and afghan for a tablecloth, a lei necklace shoved in a tall silver cup as a bouquet of flowers for the centerpiece, books for the menus, play plates and silverware, and play food. We see that Ethan and little miss E are sitting at the table looking at their "menus" that are really books and the whole setting is hilarious. We were told by the older girls that this is Ethan and little miss E's wedding dinner... they're getting married... I don't think I'm ready for this, he's my baby. We were lucky enough to get a few pictures of the ceremony. Seriously people, when you have four older girls pushing you towards one another, there's no turning back, there's going to be a wedding, and it's going to be good... veil, flowers and all!

Later Saturday, we all went together and saw some other friends that we met in the Army that we haven't seen in almost four years... nice to see them and meet their kids! Nick and the kids napped until 7:40pm Saturday, then the kids were still in bed by 9, they were so worn out!

Enjoy the pictures, and enjoy your Monday! I love Mondays, they always seem to have a "fresh start" feel to them, don't you think?

Happy Monday!
A

Ethan and his Uncle Sam finger puppet

Em and K

Ethan and Little Miss E watching fireworks

Ethan and Daddy watching fireworks

Me and B

Ethan and little miss E after the "wedding".

She'll figure out someday that she got the raw end of the deal in the ring department.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!
Have a great weekend celebrating the freedom that we are so blessed with!

The Kahler Family

Zach's surgery - prayer request **UPDATE**

Thursday morning at 7:30 sweet Zachary will undergo open heart surgery, then will be in the hospital for about 10 days. Will you please pray for Zach, Ray and Amy, and the doctors during this time? This is such an incredible family and they are dear friends of ours. Zach is such a huge blessing to all of his family and friends.
Thanks for your prayers.
A

Zach is doing well! The surgery went really well, Praise God! Please continue to pray, the first couple of days are critical. Thank you!

Sliding through summer

July... Seriously? Months have a tricky way of flying by, don't they? I was filling out a form the other day put May for the date... I really feel like we skipped right over June. It makes me a little more aware that summer is speeding by and that there's just a month left until school starts again... then time really flies by. Now I'm looking at these summer days as more of a blessing than the drag that they can sometimes turn into when the kids are saying "I'm bored" and fighting, and wanting to eat every five minutes. Some of you are parents and you know exactly what I'm talking about... sometimes it's hard to get up off of the couch and do something (at least it is for me). Everytime I find that I'm at this point I remind myself that these days are so precious, and they go by in the blink of an eye.

We spent several hours at the pool with friends the other day, then two more hours at McDonalds. The moms got to enjoy some conversation and the kids burned off some extra steam! I don't usually let my kids play in play areas at restaurants or malls, but sometimes you just have to give when it's 112 outside and any playgrounds are out of the question. I'd rather brave the germs than risk 3rd degree burns to the kiddos bums.

We played on the slip and slide the other day, and by saying "we", yes, I mean me too! Ethan came over to me and said "You try it." How can I say no to that? Let me tell you... if you want to feel like you worked your abs for hours with minimal work... just slip and slide... once. I'm still hurting, but I think it might have something to do with the "belly flop" that I did into the solid ground!

Enjoy the pictures! Notice how you can see the water drops in the air... I love my camera and lenses and am so happy that we made the investment. It has made such a huge difference in the way that we take pictures. The quality in comparison with our small digital is so great, I highly recommend it! Nick is really pleased also, I have to give him the credit for these pictures... nice job, honey!

Happy July!
A

Who's there?

I'm sitting in my scrapbook room and hear someone coming down the hallway...
Me: "Who's there?"
Ethan: "Me (hiccups) and my heepups"

Happy Saturday!
A

Already causing some trouble...

This morning Ethan was on the toilet and had finished peeing... he then shakes his bottom side to side and I kind of giggle a bit, trying not to laugh too hard because this is going so well, I don't want to ruin anything. He looks up at me with this face that he makes, eyes squinted a little, cheeks squinched up, lips together, head tilted to one side... "Ya, Gaga said me shake it, shake it."

After composing myself I had to go call Gaga (my mom, Em made up the name long, long ago). Her response... "I did not tell him to shake it, he's trying to get me into trouble already."

After a phone call to Nick because I figure he's the culprit... yes, he fesses up.
Love my guys!
A

Around here...

Summer is in full force and we are doing what we can to stay cool and busy! Nick and I have enjoyed several date nights, and are planning on another this weekend!

We are in the midst of potty training. Ethan's been awesome and it's going really, really well! He likes his "airwears" (underwear), and is making a TON of progress! There is nothing that we have to leave the house for this week, so we're focused!

Ethan has also made the switch to a "big boy" bed. We milked the crib for as long as we could. Seriously, he had no interest in getting out of it and he LOVED to sleep in the crib. That was, up until a couple of weeks ago when he started showing up in our room five times a night and trying to get into bed with us. After one night of this, we converted his crib to the toddler version. He still came into our room, he just would go straight to the big comfy chair that we have in the corner and sleep there until we found him in the morning. Next came the gate on his door... that will stay, but he now has a toddler bed that will hopefully do the trick. We're trying this one until we go "full size". Although, last night he slept all night in his bed without making a peep or trying to escape. Maybe we did this a little late?

We chose a bedding set for Em's room and will be re-decorating soon, thanks to my mom who snatched up the last set they had for us while at the mall! Em and I have spent hours in her room going through and getting rid of things. She likes to keep everything. Everything. She forms an emotional attachment to every doll, stuffed animal, toy, paper, marker, etc. She has been awesome and we have two laundry baskets overflowing with things that she has decided to get rid of and we're not even finished yet. I am so proud of her! I'll post pictures when we're finished.

I started a sewing "class" today with a group of friends from MOPS. Not really a class, but just a group of us getting together with our mentor mom that can sew really well... kind of a tutorial. I can sew, but not well. My mom can sew anything and everything with perfection... I just never had an interest in learning how to sew something more detailed than a straight line until now. We're going to attempt to make aprons. I'll also post a picture when I'm finished... maybe.

Happy Wednesday!
A

How cute am I!?

Thanks to Hollie, I now have a super cute blog that is the perfect fit to me! I love the world of blogging and how it connects us. Without it, I never would have come to "know" Hollie, and I am so thankful to have "met" her!

In other news... there really isn't any. We're trying to stay cool and occupied, which is quite a challenge, but we're still having fun!

The library is a bit of a challenge with Ethan. He doesn't understand that he has to be quite, and loudly exclaims the name of whatever character he recognizes on the books.

The kids are loving playing Wii Fit and trying all of the new things. Ethan can even do some of the things and it is so cute! Emily helps him dodge soccer balls and it's really quite funny to watch her move his body left, right and center! He's trying to get the hang of jumping without taking his feet of the board, otherwise it shows a caution message and he gets a little upset. We're getting there!

Happy Birthday to Karla in Chile! We miss you! Love you!

Happy Thursday!
A

Happy Father's Day!

We are blessed by many "Dads" and each one of them is very special to us!
And to this guy... there aren't enough words to express what a wonderful Dad he is! The kids and I are truly blessed by him!
We love you!
Happy Father's Day!

A great summer kick-off...

What a way to start the summer!!! We spent all of last week in San Diego, and we had the most amazing time ever! It was the perfect way to start off the summer, just the four of us, and just what we needed! This year has been especially busy for us... adjusting to Nick's school schedule and the time demands that come with it, me not feeling well for so long, then having surgery and recovery time, all of the school and family/ friend commitments that we have had... we needed a vacation!
I think the best part about our vacation was that the kids had a blast and they got along so well. They usually do, but they are siblings, you know... it was just so relaxing and I'm sure that they felt a sense of relief also! Most of the time, we didn't even know what time it was... Nick and I would say "What time is it?" to each other, to be answered with "Don't know, don't care."
Our resort was amazing (thank you, dear friends for the advice... we finally listened!), right in the bay with a private beach, amazing grounds, and the pool was awesome for the kids! We took the kids scooters and bikes and they rode around the resort for hours, while we walked behind them, just enjoying being there! When we ate at the bayside restaurant at the resort, the kids would ride their scooters and park them right by the entrance, then we would load up and ride some more! Most mornings Nick and I would sit in the grass and drink our coffee and the kids would ride around, usually in their pajamas, it was so great! We were less than a mile from Sea World... yes, we ended up going to Sea World... even though we didn't plan on it! We spent Tuesday at the San Diego Zoo and we had so much fun there, the kids loved it! Tuesday evening was special to us (see post below)! Wednesday afternoon we went to Sea World, and then we picked up Nick's mom from the airport and she went to Sea World with us on Thursday! She had never been and it was easy for her to fly over, and we are so happy that she did! We had breakfast with Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Zoe, Telly and Cookie Monster!
I couldn't even begin to tell you all of the great things that we did and all of the fun that we had, so I'll let some pictures do the talking! We took so many great pictures, I'll add a slideshow later.
The kids and I had breakfast with my dad today... always fun! We both talked about our trips, he and a friend were in North Carolina for the Nascar race last weekend, and we had a great breakfast! The kids were especially excited to see him after a couple of weeks!
Happy Birthday to me today!

Happy Monday!
A

Something to celebrate...

Tuesday marked eight years since Nick's graduation from West Point, and along with that came his final release from his commitment to the Army... and we celebrated! He had a five year active duty commitment and then a three year inactive commitment, but they could have called him back anytime during those three years... needless to say, I have been waiting for this day for three years!
Our resort had fire places on the beach, so after we left the zoo, Emily and I did some shopping so that we could make s'mores by the fire on the beach!
We also had some fun taking pictures with the kids and the sun!


Goodbye Army!
A

Remember

Our deepest gratitude to those who have died in our nation's service, and to their families.

The Kahler Family

So long first grade, hello second!

As of 12:50 today, we will officially have a big second grader in our house! Emily's last day of school is today, and I was informed by the entire class during the party yesterday that I couldn't call them first graders anymore... they're second graders. I said "First graders, will you please line up to go throw water balloons?" In return, I hear "We're not first graders anymore, Mrs. Kahler, we're second graders." Then they just stand there, waiting for me to address them correctly! Seriously!?... you took the time to tell me that instead of bolting to the door to water-bomb the person of your choice? They don't take second grade lightly, that's for sure! They are so stinking cute and we had such a great party... a Sonic party. We got them Sonic. That's right, we're cool like that. That, and I got a drink out of it without getting "the look" from Nick. You know, the one that jokingly says he really thinks that I have a Sonic problem (see "my five" post)!?
There has been so much going on, I don't even know where to start. For that, and the fact that I promised Em that she could ride her scooter to school while I push Ethan in the stroller, I have got to get my behind up from the computer.
Happy Graduation day to Nicole, our sweetheart cousin. She rocks. She likes to tell little girls that Hannah Montana is behind the curtain on the stage at wedding receptions... love her!
Who else is thrilled that David Cook won American Idol!?!?

Happy last day of school, graduation day, Thursday!
A

Last day of school!

And Ethan... because I think he's cute!

happiness...

is spending Mother's Day with the ones that you love. It is also discovering that your new camera and lenses take the pictures exactly the way you want them... so, so happy about that! I am really into scrapbooking, but don't do much of it because of all of the "extra" that ends up being in pictures. Now, I'm going to be a scrapping fool... and a photographer :), um, ok... maybe not the photographer part!

Another thing that makes me happy is that Dr. Kevin Leman is going to be speaking at my church this weekend! I have read his books and Nick listens to him on the radio, so we are excited to hear what he has to teach! If you're in the area and you have children, it's something you won't want to miss!

Happy Monday!
A

Kisses from the kiddos!

Perfect... although, as I mentioned, not a photographer!

Little Miss Sassy

Woohoo!

My five (as requested by Shelijn)...

1. 5 things under $5 that I couldn't live without
Chapstick
Sonic drinks
Crayola products
Hand lotion
Odwalla Monster C drinks when I feel a cold coming on

2. 5 Favorite Movies
You've got Mail
Love Actually
Top Gun
The Little Mermaid
The Bucket List

3. 5 Baby names I love
Emily and Ethan (of course)
Addison
Adam
Ella
Hudson

4. 5 Songs I could listen to over and over again
Stand
Cowboy Take Me Away
All That Matters
Drops of Jupiter
Emily singing God Bless America at 2 years old

5. 5 People who have influenced me in a positive way
Nick
My parents (including in-laws) and siblings
Emily and Ethan
Mrs. Ricketts
All the people that show me who I don't want to be... you know, the lady in the grocery store that yells at you because your kid is crying, or the person that never has something nice to say... never.

6. 5 things that are always in my purse
Chapstick
Money for a Sonic drink :)
Really small first-aid kit
Bobby pins
Crayons that I steal from the restaurants

7. 5 moments that have changed my life forever
My wedding
The birth of my children
My baptism
Nick being sent to Iraq
The moment I realized that not everybody is going to like me or treat me kindly, but that's ok... I don't have to let it affect me and I don't have to be like them.

8. 5 Obsessions I have now
Sonic drinks (really, Nick is looking into starting a Sonic's Anonymous, just for people like me)
Photography... you watch, I'm the next Annie Liebowitz :)
Cooking/ baking
Blogs
Organization

9. 5 places I would like to go
Italy
France
Seattle, Oregon (Nick loves them both and I'm a rain/ green person)
Victoria Falls
New York for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade

10. 5 appliances or kitchen tools I cannot live without
Kitchenaid Mixer
VitaMix "blender"
Dishwasher (did that in CO for long enough!)
Rocker knife
Coffee pot

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope that all of the Mothers in my life have a very Happy Mother's Day!
To some, it is their first Mother's Day, some just watched their oldest daughter get married :), some are dedicating their babies at church today (so excited to see you!), and some are going to enjoy a really great day with family, just to name a few.
Whatever you are doing, I wish you a Happy Mother's Day and hope that this is a great day for you!
I have to add a prayer request because there are two mommies that are on my heart a lot today... two mommies that I know that will spend this Mother's Day in the hospital with their little ones. Please pray for them and their children, and the Lord's peace in their life today. Thank you.

Happy Mother's Day Sunday!
A

Happy Cinco de Mayo...

Mexican food for dinner tonight, not doubt about it! I think we'll have burrito bowls tonight since it's one of the things that the kids always scarf down and want seconds of... yum! Really though, we don't need a reason to enjoy Mexican food around here, it is our absolute favorite! Since I'm on the topic... if you have a Costco in your area, you HAVE to buy their uncooked tortillas... oh my goodness, they are delish, and you can cook them to your little heart's desire! I eat them by themselves, way too many at a time. Way too many. You can find them in the cooler section, usually right by the shredded cheese... try them now, they are fantastic!
We've had a really great May so far! Did anybody put flowers on somebody's front porch?
We had a great weekend, some sickness that we are thankfully over, and now we are into finals week for Nick and the last couple of weeks of school for Em! Em is already a bit sad that she won't have the same teacher next year... ok, she's really sad, she even has been crying about it, sweet thing. She wrote her teacher a note and asked if we could go to the neighborhood pool together over the summer, how cute is that!? She has the most wonderful teacher. There isn't enough that I can say about what a great teacher she is and we are so thankful that she has become part of our lives! She has two daughters, one is Em's age, so it works out well and we will definitely see them over the summer. Em is happy about that and maybe it will help reduce the tears on the last day of school! Nick, on the other hand, won't be crying as he finishes his final on Thursday night! He will have over a month off until his summer electives. We're going to get a couple of much needed vacations which I'll tell you about after we're home... for obvious reasons!
Ok, I have stuff to get done that requires more of me than sitting in front of the computer wishing for a laundry fairy. Actually, the laundry is done, ironed and put away... I would settle for an errand fairy!
That, and Handy Manny is almost over... time's up Mom!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Happy Monday!
A

the reveal...

Our kitchen is finished and finally put back together! I worked furiously for a couple of days, getting everything put back where it belongs, changing some things around, as well as getting rid of a ton of things. Nick made a Goodwill trip Friday... it feels so good to get rid of things!

We are so happy with the way that the kitchen turned out! We had the cabinets in the two upstairs bathrooms done the same as well. We replaced our formica countertops with the granite about a year and a half ago and we have always wanted our cabinets to look like this, but our house was a spec and we didn't really have a choice. We knew that doing it ourselves would be a really bad move, given that they would be really expensive to replace if we ruined them. Luckily, a friend moved into a new house and had her cabinets throughout her house done like this to match her kitchen, and we were able to use the same person she did! We were never happy with the drywall island that is standard and Nick spent countless hours customizing the island with wood to make it look like a piece of furniture. He is so talented and I am totally impressed, even after all of the projects that we have done together. Now our house definitely stands apart from the 50 others in our neighborhood that are the same model!

Before (the island and you can kind of see the cabinets)

Daddy's big helper!

Just finished

Now... all put back together!

We have another busy week, but this time I'm starting with a clean house and all of the laundry done and put away! It's a great feeling and I'm hoping to get some scrapbooking done this week. We'll see, Ethan may have other plans, like he usually does, which is fine with me... I like the swings at the park too!

Just a note... this morning The Today Show kicked off another round of "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"! I love this week in the show and am so excited to wake up and see where Matt is each day! I enjoy seeing the beautiful places in the world, most of which I will never see... they go to some pretty crazy places and have to do some pretty crazy things to get there... a lot of string pulling, I'm sure! That along with the tiny factor that I really don't like to fly... yeah, probably not visiting Patagonia anytime soon!

Happy Monday!
A

I copied the information below from Ryan's hospital care page. What a blessing that Ryan is doing well! The surgery took longer than nine hours... wow.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy, happy Friday!
A

Ladies and gentlemen, the Rhino has left the OR!
Mandy and I just spoke with the surgeon. Everything went wonderfully. Ryan now has four chambers to his heart, functional mitral and tricuspid valves, a left pulmonary artery in the right place, and an open trachea. The surgeon did not end up moving the subclavean artery, but did move RT's aorta (sutured it out of the way). After careful analysis, the surgeon decided that the trachea would be fine without intervention. Of course, we will keep a careful eye on it. We should be able to see him in the next hour or so!
Thanks to everyone for the support and prayers. We made it!

Ryan in surgery...

Please pray for Ryan, the surgical team and Shaun and Mandy, as well as the grandparents and other close family and friends at the hospital. Ryan went into the OR at 9:00 this morning, Texas time.

Thank you.
Angie

happy birthday honey!

Today is Nick's 30th birthday! I am so blessed to have such a great husband and Daddy to my kids! Happy birthday honey!
It's been kind of a crazy day around here. I have a house to put back together while Nick is at work and school tomorrow. I am happy to report that our update is complete and I will post pictures later!

Happy Birthday Nick!
Happy Wednesday!
A

happy earth day!

I couldn't resist buying these shirts... especially Em's (it says "Can I recycle my brother?")! They didn't have any that would fit Ethan, so one of his regular green shirts works just fine!

I hope that you enjoy Earth Day, we sure are!

Happy Earth Day Tuesday!

A

ps... today is Nick's last day of being 29 :)

Ethan was being a little shy this morning and didn't want his picture taken!

monday madness...

I love Mondays, I really do. Even though Sunday is the first day of the week, Monday just seems to kick it off for me. Monday is usually my day to get a lot of stuff done. My house is usually clean and I usually have a great "to do" list that I'm rapidly checking the boxes on. Today, not so much. I think it might be the sawdust that cast a light blanket over my entire house during this project that we have been working on. I'm definitely looking forward to cleaning tomorrow (don't laugh) since we are done with the dust making... now somebody else gets to finish the work!
Thursday we went to the zoo. Em's school had a field trip to the zoo and Nick was a chaperone! He went with the class and rode the bus and he even had three little girls, including Em, under his wing. One of the little girls insisted on holding his hand the entire time that we were walking around. It was super cute! They really had so much fun and it was evident by Em's shirt... the only part of her shirt that was truly white was where her name tag was, everything else was a little dirty! Ethan and I met them there and we stayed a bit longer than the school so that we could get a look at the tiger and lions. Ethan was so fascinated and definitely did not want to leave. Totally honest... he was asleep before I even had time to put the stroller in the back of my truck and get in the driver's seat. I heard him startle when I shut the rear door of the truck. Poor guy, he was so exhausted and he slept for 3 1/2 hours!
We spent the rest of the weekend working on projects and we also spent some time with family.
I received an update on Ryan today. He will possibly have surgery this Thursday, but nothing is definite.
Another prayer request... Josh, a guy that also went to West Point with Nick, just found out that his dad has colon cancer. Please pray for his dad Polo.
And another... Nick's grandma Stoney went home this past week to be with her friend Rose who recently found out she had cancer. Rose passed away yesterday and she was Grandma's closest friend. Grandma is, no doubt, going to miss Rose dearly.

Happy Monday!
Angie

please pray...

UPDATE: Ryan did not have surgery today because of the risk of infection due to positive blood cultures. Surgery will likely be next week, as long as Ryan produces three negative blood cultures in a row. Please continue to pray, especially for Ryan's healing. Thank you.

Our dear friends Shaun and Mandy (Nick and Shaun met in college) have a five month old son, Ryan. Ryan is to undergo major reparative heart surgery tomorrow. Please pray for Ryan's healing, for peace for Shaun and Mandy and their families, and for the wisdom and guidance of the doctors. Thank you.

Happy Wednesday!
A

jam-packed

We have a T-Ball star on our hands!

Emily had her first T-Ball game Saturday morning and she had such a great time, did such a great job, and was a great sport! Every time she went up to bat, she got a great hit and made it on base (they let everybody run the bases!). She played in the pitcher position and caught several balls and made great "plays"! A couple of times I think that she decided she would bypass everybody else and just throw the ball home to get the runner "out". It was really sweet to watch all of the kids stop and think about what they were supposed to do next, especially if they ended up with the ball, looking to coaches and parents for guidance! Em is the only girl on her team, and she isn't phased a bit by it! Ethan also had a lot of fun at the game and really wanted to get in on the action!

After the game, we celebrate Grandma Stoney's birthday! She is Nick's grandma (Virgil's mom), and she is so very special to us! She turns 29 ;) today and she couldn't look better for her age! Ethan and I are taking her out to lunch today. As a tradition (five years in the running, with one missed when we were in CO), we take her out to lunch every year on her birthday and we look forward to it and love spending the time with her! We usually get a waiter that gets a kick out of singing to Grandma!

We got a Wii last week and we've had a lot of fun with that! We hadn't planned on getting one, but I was at Costco the other day and they had a couple so I decided I would snatch one up and get our family a little gift! Emily is not only a T-Ball star, she is a kick butt bowler! Ethan loves to play baseball and yells "strike" after every pitch that he throws!

We've had the "project" itch and decided to do a bit of "remodeling" in our kitchen! I will post before and after pictures once the project is finished! Let me just tell you, we are super excited for how it's going to turn out! When we lived in Colorado, we were always busy doing something with the house. We lived in an old house and did everything we could to update it and make it "us". We spent countless hours working on it together and we had a blast!

I suppose I should get off the computer and get something done! I have some must-dos that need done today, and then I intend on playing with this new kit that I received in the mail last week! So excited to use the creative part of my brain for a bit!

Happy Birthday to Grandma Stoney!

Happy Birthday to Julie!

Happy, Happy Monday!
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six

Six years and it keeps getting better (insert exclamation point). Our wedding day was beautiful and we were so blessed to be surrounded by the people that mean the most in our lives.

I think that I over-used the exclamation point on my keyboard... it doesn't work anymore. Does that mean that there is one downside to being so happy? I'm going to have to fix that... I'm much happier than a mere . can convey.

Happy Monday
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"Tagged" and more

Everybody gets those emails that ask questions about you, right? The get to know you kind that most people don't bother to fill out and send back (guilty here).

Well, I was "tagged" by a friend to write seven random things about me that you might not know...

1. I swam competitively for years, but hate when my face is wet.
2. I fold a stick of gum before I put it in my mouth.
3. I don't like "flimsy", non-crisp sheets... they make me feel messy.
4. I sit in chairs with my legs crossed... "criss cross applesauce" as they say now.
5. I really like Sonic drinks. A lot.
6. I dip my fries in mayo.
7. I want to work with children when my youngest is in school full time.

There you have it... seven things that you might not know about me. Now you do. I'm not tagging anybody, so feel free to leave a comment with something random that I may not know about you!

I was doing a little laundry earlier and was struck by the saying on a shirt that Em has. The message is so simple and cute, and I really had a bit of a perspective shift (I've been in a funk for a few days). I thought I'd share it with you as we go into the weekend...

Have a fantastic FUN weekend!

Happy Friday!
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Note to self...

When your two year old "disappears" to the downstairs portion of the house for more than 60 seconds... beware... you may find him with a half eaten Klondike bar (freezer on the bottom... not so great with little ones that love ice cream!). Of course, I couldn't let him eat it alone, he would have gotten a stomach ache, right? Does a triple chocolate ice cream bar count as breakfast?

Happy Birthday to Tim... BIG 30!

Happy Wednesday!
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Milestones...

Happy April! I'm not a huge fan of April Fools jokes... I don't like surprises either... boring, huh?

The first week of April holds many milestones for our family.

April 3, 2003 is the day that Nick left for Iraq. It's hard to believe that it was five years ago and I still remember every tiny detail like it was yesterday.

April 4, 2005 is the day that Nick, Emily and I, (pregnant with Ethan) left Colorado Springs and moved back to Arizona. We left the Army life and everything that goes along with it, our first home, and some very special friends. It was a very bittersweet day.

April 7, 2002 is the day that Nick and I were married! Six years and it only gets better! We will celebrate this weekend with "our day". We spend the entire day out together, and then we have dinner somewhere nice. This year we're up in the air... Ruth's Chris again or The Melting Pot?? Maybe we'll fly back to Springs to try The Famous or return to Mackenzies Chop House... hmm!
All of these days hold such meaning to us. If you were, thanks for being a part of them.

Happy Birthday to Elloree Grace Flippin, born at 2am this morning! Congratulations to Todd, Schelijn and Jack Greer!

Happy Tuesday!
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